The Darkness within
by Akuma-Tsukishima
Summary: It's been five years since the defeat of the D-Reaper and a new enemy has arisen. Their goal is to find a strong tamer with darkness in their heart. They have their eyes set on none other than Rika Nonaka. Also, Ryo realizes that a certain digimon from his past is back to haunt him. Will Rika be able to fight the darkness within her? Will Ryo be able to overcome his past?
1. Chapter 1 - The Christmas Party

_With advancement technology and science not mention the existence of internet led to the creation of a place where mysterious creatures were born and could live - the digital world. The creatures that live in the digital world are known as the digimon. Naturally like in the human world, there are good and evil digimon. In order to keep the evil digimon at bay, chosen children from the human world were partnered with good digimon to fight the evil. Eventually, these chosen children came to be known as 'Tamers.'_

 _However, the evil cannot be vanquished so easily. Five years after the defeat of the D-reaper, another storm seemed to be brewing in the Digital World. In the darkest part of certain island, four digimon gathered. The cave of their rendezvous point consisted of four pillars with inscriptions on them. They seemed to be acting as a seal to contain something trapped in a black cell. In front of the cell was a table on which was a slot containing a pitch black D-Arc. On the next slot were black and silver cards with the symbol of an eye._

 _"The most powerful digimon lays trapped here like a little bird," said one of them. "Quite a sight I must say. We must find a way to release him."_

 _"But to release him, we need the strength and power of a Tamer," said another. "How are we to hand-pick the one?"_

 _"Fear not, we already know the chosen one. That child will be the one to release our lord and become his strength."_

 _"Nonsense! Why should we have a tamer to take of us? We can become strong on our own!"_

 _"Then tell me why have we failed so far? Why have we failed to taint the world in darkness?"_

 _The shadow cloaked digimon remained silent. The other continued. "Before we go after the tamer, there is something we must do. We require a certain 'data' in order for our lord to wake up. And we the four dark lords will retrieve it no matter what. " With that the four dissipated into the darkness._

In West Shinjuku, a young brown haired tamer was busy helping his parents at the bakery. He was in bright spirits for their shop was very busy seeing as the Christmas was around the corner. He had just pulled out a Guilmon bread from the oven when he heard the thumping of a tail.

"Mmmmm...It smells good. When can we eat, Takato?" asked Guilmon, the red dinosaur and his digimon partner.

"You'll have to wait till the others get here, Guilmon. Don't worry, it won't be long." Just as he said those words, there was knock on the backdoor. Takato opened and before him stood all his friends with their digimon.

"Hey, Takato," said a red haired girl. "Hope we aren't late."

"Of course not, Jeri," said Takato with a blush. "You're all just in time."

"Hey, gogglehead, are you going to let us in or what?" asked the fiery haired girl with a smirk. Takato sweatdropped and let the troop in.

"Head on to my room on the second floor. It's the first one on the right. I'll join you guys in a few minutes." The group quickly made their way into Takato's room where they made themselves comfortable. Guilmon went along with them. The green rabbit digimon bounced from his blue-haired partner's head and landed on Guilmon's. "Momentai! Guilmon give me a ride," demanded Terriermon.

"Terriermon, you've been having a free ride on my shoulder all this time," said Henry.

"Momentai! So what?"

"He probably means you need exercise or you'll get fat, lil' rabbit," said Rika.

"Oh really?"

"Culumon wants to ride on Guilmon as well, culu!" cried the little happy-go-lucky digimon.

"Sure, sure, join the bandwagon. Guilmon will have probably digivolve to Locomon at this rate," said Rika.

"My, my princess. You're on fire today," teased the cerulean eyed boy. "Did something good happen?"

"Oh, shut up, Ryo. You're still as annoying as ever," snapped Rika.

"Now, now, you two don't fight," said Jeri.

"Yeah," said Kazu. "You'll still lose to Ryo."

"Yeah, lose to Ryo," repeated Guardromon, his machine digimon partner.

"Kazu..." warned Kenta, best friend.

"Say that when you beat me, dumb-head," snapped Rika. Renamon who was standing quietly placed her paw on Rika's shoulder and shook her head. Rika hmphed but let the matter drop. Kazu, on the other hand, looked like he would say something but was stopped by Kenta clamping his mouth. At that moment, Takato walked in with a large tray filled with various types of digimon bread, juice and a Christmas cake.

He placed the tray on the centre table. "It's a little early but Merry Christmas everyone!" he greeted.

"Merry Christmas!" yelled the others. Together, the 7 children cut the cake and helped themselves to generous portions of it along with their digimon.

"This cake is yummy! I want seconds!" said Monodramon.  
"Hey, hey you can't be a glutton Monodramon,"chided his partner. "The cake is for every-" Before he could finish, Monodramon made a beeline for the cake. Seeing him, Guilmon, Calumon and Terriermon ran as well with Guardromon joining them thinking it was a game. As the tamers tried to restrain their respective partners and Jeri trying to catch Calumon, the cake toppled from the table due to the tug O' war and fell on the fiery haired girl who happened to have been sitting nearby. All there was silence as everyone feared the wrath of the Digimon Queen.

Rika stood up, caked with red velvet icing all over her face and dress, with her arms clenched against her sides. The others waited with abated breath for her verdict. Veins could be seen popping from her head as she trembled in anger. All those who saw the dark aura radiating from her, paled instantly. All except for one digimon who did not seem to read the mood. The little white digimon happily jumped on Rika and dared to lick a bit of the icing off her.

"So sweet, culu!" cried Calumon happily. Rika stood motionless, fixing her stare at the carefree digimon.

"M-Momentai...It was nice knowing you Calumon..." prayed Terriermon with folded hands.

"R-Rika?" stuttered Takato. ' _Oh boy... As if the cake falling on her wasn't so bad... Poor Calumon..."_

As taking this as a cue, Ryo went beside the fiery haired girl and scooped some of the cake from her. Then he proceeded to lick his fingers clean.

"Wow, Rika. Who knew you were so _sweet_?" he said non-chalantly. "Maybe I should have another taste of you, to make su-"

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, RYO!" yelled Rika. Her booming voice knocked Calumon, who bounced off the floor into Guilmon's hands. And then Rika truly exploded.

"LOOK AT THIS! WHY CAN'T YOU GUYS BE MORE CAREFUL! UGH, THESE VELVETY STAINS PROBABLY WON'T GO OFF! AND THIS WAS MY FAVOURITE T-SHIRT TOO!"she ranted. Ryo continued to smirk at her.

"Well, I think this new do suits you quite well, princess," he said, bursting into laughter.

"STOP SMIRKING RYO AKIYAMA,OR ELSE I'LL WIPE IT OFF FOR YOU!"

Just as she was about to launch herself at him, Renamon held her back.

"LET ME GO! LET ME AT HIM, RENAMON!" cried Rika, thrashing against her partner to break free.

"Calm down, Rika. You're causing a scene," said Renamon.

"I DON'T CARE! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

Henry and Jeri acted quickly to control the situation. The others were too petrified to even move. "What happened to forget and forgive?" muttered Takato, before helping Jeri get a towel. Henry calmed Rika then gave the fiery haired girl his handkerchief to wipe her face with till Jeri brought the towel. The two girls then left the room with Renamon whilst Henry, Takato and the others clean up the mess.

"Some Christmas party this has been," said Kazu. "Really, you'd think Rika could take a joke for once. But no, she has to throw a tantrum."

"Kazu, please shut up. If Rika hears you, there's no telling what she'll do," warned Kenta.

"Kenta's right. Besides, this is a party. Let's play a game or something to lighten up the mood," suggested Takato.

"Good idea, Takato. Let's have a Digi-card battle!" said Kazu, enthusiastically. "Ryo-man, will you play against me?"

"How about we play something else for once?" said the tanned boy. "Like poker or old maid?"

"Good idea Ryo," said Henry, just as the girls and Renamon returned.

They all decided to play old maid and even the digimon joined in. Guilmon had trouble holding the cards and Takato had a tough time teaching him. Terriermon tried to cheat by looking into Guilmon's cards but Henry caught his ears and chided him. The game was going well and it was finally down to two players - Rika and Henry.

"Who knew Ryo would actually lose at something?" said Kazu, in surprise.

"Hey, I ain't perfect you know," said Ryo.

"Quiet you guys. The game is still going on," shushed Jeri.

Rika stared intently at the two cards that Henry held. The blue-haired boy kept pleasant but poker face. The violet eyes girl struggled to decipher the which the right card could be and kept swinging her hand back and forth between the two cards. Realizing the she wouldn't get anything out Henry, she went ahead and chose the card on the left. Henry smiled. Sure that she had lost, Rika flipped the card. It was the Queen of Spades.

She looked up at Henry in surprise, just as he revealed the Joker. "I won!" she cried in joy. "That was a good game!"

"Congratulations, Rika," said Henry. The tamers chit-chatted. recounting the various battles with the Devas and the D-reaper before calling it a night. Takato escorted Jeri and Calumon to the train station, Kazu and Kenta headed their own way with their respective digimons while Ryo, Rika and Henry and the rest of the digimons headed towards Rika's home.

"So, you're staying at Henry's place, Ryo?" asked Rika.

"Yup. Why, do you want me to stay at you're place, Rika?" he asked, arms folded behind his head.

"In your dreams," retorted Rika. "Good luck keeping him, Henry."

"Yeah, yeah," said Henry. "We'll be going this way. You sure you don't want us to escort you home, Rika?"

"I'm sure. Renamon's with me."

"Ok. But do message us when you reach, ok?"

"I will. See ya guys."

"See ya, Rika."

"Goodnight, Pumpkin," said Ryo. Rika rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. "Good night Ryo, Henry."

As she walking, Renamon materialized beside her. The two walked in silence watching the snow fall in the starry night. "The snowflakes are beautiful , aren't they Renamon?" said Rika, when a very pretty flake landed on her glove.

"It is indeed," answered Renamon almost in a whisper.

"Merry Christmas, Renamon."

"Merry Christmas Rika."

They turned into a corner near her home when an icy blast sent a chill down Rika's spine. She stopped and turned back to see if anything or anyone was around. But there was no one.

"What's wrong Rika?" asked her partner concerned.  
"I-It's nothing. Let's hurry up and get home." Rika pulled her jacket closer, the wind around feeling colder than usual. From a distance, a eerie shadow observed the two before disappearing into the darkness.

* * *

 **Author's Notes (A/N)**

 **This is the first chapter, I hope you liked it. I'm planning to make this more of an adventure with just a little romance here and there.**

 **Also, I will be using the English version of the characters names for Digimon Tamers but the main story will based on the original Japanese version. Also, since I plan to have the adventure characters as well, their names will be as per the original Japanese version.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Digimon series nor its characters.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Nightmare

That night, Rika had trouble sleeping. She tossed and turned until finally she managed to enter the dreamworld. However, that turned out to be her worst nightmare. Rika stood in her lilac pyjamas in the middle of a mist covered field.

' _Where am I? Is this a digi-field by any chance?'_ She looked around for her partner, but Renamon was nowhere to be seen. An unearthly chill ran down her spine. Whispers could be heard all around her.

 _"Who's there?"_ she called out. There was no answer. But the whispers soon turned into a cacophony of voices. The harsh voices were now chanting her name almost like a ritual - _Rika Nonaka, Rika Nonaka, Rika Nonaka._ From the mist, shadows emerged one by one, surrounding her completely.

The violet eyes girl surveyed them warily. For a few moments there was nothing but silence and then a familiar voice spoke to her.

 _"It has been a while, Rika."_

If Rika was shocked, she tried not to show it. _"Icedevimon... What do you want?"_

 _"Why else would I call you?"_

" _Don't tell me you still want me to be your tamer. Renamon is my partner and nothing will replace her!"_ she said.

The cold digimon laughed. " _I never expected that you to say this. What happened to that ice queen attitude of yours?"_

 _"I realized that my friends and bonds with Renamon are what make us stronger."_

 _" Rika, Rika, Rika...Since when did you soften up? Has being around those other tamers and their little digimon tainted you? You used to be much more ruthless."_

 _"T-That was in the past. Anyway, I know where my true strength lies. I don't need another partner."_

 _"The girl is rather stubborn," said a female voice. "Shall teach her a thing or two?"_ The malice in her voice made Rika step back. " _Renamon..."_ she whispered.

 _"You're partner cannot save you," said Icedevimon. "Rika, there are much more powerful digimons, ones that surpass me or you're Renamon. You are a tamer with so much potential. I cannot fathom why you are limiting yourself."_

 _"Wh-What do you mean?"_

 _"You know very well what I mean. Rika, we need a tamer like you to help us become stronger. You are the only one with that kind of power. Even Ryo Akiyama can't compare to you."_

At the mention of the legendary tamer's name, Rika fell silent. As far as she remember there was barely a time she won against Ryo. No matter how many times she challenged him be it sports or the digimon card game, she was never able to defeat him and yet...

" _Why? Why me?"_ she asked.

"That's obvious, Rika. You have a strength that the other tamers lack, you're ruthlessness." Rika shuddered as she recalled the cold tamer she once was before she bonded with Renamon. Before her eyes, the mist shimmered and before her materialized a girl in a turquoise turtleneck T-shirt with a broken heart in the middle, jeans and red-white sneakers. Her was tied up in a spiky ponytail and her eyes were cold violet. She was much shorter than the current Rika but there was no mistaking her past self.

' _I have to be the strongest,'_ said the past Rika. _'To do that I need to defeat stronger digimon and load their data.'_

"No! I was wrong!" yelled Rika.

' _I must make Renamon digivolve into a more powerful digimon. I need to push her limits so she can evolve.'_

"No, Renamon and I are partners. It's because we fight together that we are stronger."

' _Partners? What bullshit. Digimon are merely creatures born to fight, nothing more.'_

"No, digimon have hearts, just like humans! If they are our companions and bring so much warmth to life..." said Rika, recalling the wonderful times she had spent with Renamon. Her past self looked at her coldly.

' _I didn't think I'd become so weak as to give in to bonds and the like. I am truly disappointed...to think that I have grown weak.'_

"I..." Unable to say anything more, Rika remained silent.

" _Rika_ ," Icedevimon rasped. " _You must return to the cold tamer you once were. Only then will you truly find yourself. "_

"I won't! I have things I believe in now! That is my strength!"

Icedevimon tsked but decided to end matters once and for all. " _Think about what I said carefully, Rika. There will certainly come a time when you will come to us. We look forward to the day you become our tamer. And the next time, another of us will come to see you."_

 _"There will be no next time! And I'll never become your tamer! Renamon is my-"_ But she was cut off mid-way as a strong gust of wind ripped the mist apart. It carried with it several petals of cherry blossom. When she looked up, she saw Sakuyamon's silhouette. It seemed to be calling out to her. "Rika...Rika..."

"Rika, wake up." Renamon's soft voice caused her to wake up with a start. She looked disoriented and tried to process everything that happened.

* * *

 **A/N: So that's Chapter 2. Do let me know what you think of it and what needs to be improved. As for the silhouettes Rika saw, take your guesses on who they might be :)**


	3. Chapter 3 - Slip n' slide

Rika couldn't remember when she had last felt this way. She was confused, troubled and unsure of whether she believed in the dream.

"Rika, are you alright?" asked her partner in concern. "You look pale."

"I'm okay, Renamon. I just had a bad dream, that's all," she replied.

"Are you sure? Because you called my name."

"Did I?" Rika paused contemplating as to whether or not she should share what happened with her partner. In the end, she decided to keep it to herself for she felt it was possibly just a weird dream. Stretching, she slowly got up and put her futon away before going to freshen herself. She changed into a blue turtleneck top with black denim jeans. As it was cold, she threw on her royal blue fleece and scarf that matched her top along, a muffler and a pair of yellow gloves.

Once she was ready, she proceeded to eating her breakfast in silence while her mother Rumiko, ranted on about her latest photoshoot. When she was done, Rika slipped into her sneakers at the entranceway. She had been about to leave a buzz from her pocket stopped her. She took out her mobile phone which had a Renamon strap on it. The strap had been a gift from Henry on her birthday. The message was from Henry.

' _Hey, Rika. Merry Christmas! Are you free today or do you have plans?'_

Rika thought for a while before replying. _'Merry Christmas to you and Suzie, Henry. Oh and Ryo too. As for plans, I'm going out for dinner with my mother and grandmother, so I'm free till noon.'_

She received his reply in a matter of a few minutes. ' _Cool. Ryo and I were planning to head to Shinjuku Park. Get your skates. We'll see you in 10 mins?'_

 _'Ok.'_

With her skates in hand, Rika and Renamon made their way to the park. The entire town was filled with snow that sparkled under the sun. A few children could be seen having snowball fights while some got on their sledges. As she was passing by Ai and Mako's house she felt something cold fall on her head. She looked up to see Impmon laughing his head off yelling, "I gotcha, I gotcha!"

Rika's eyes narrowed as she quickly made a snowball and aimed it straight at Impmon. The purple digimon tumbled backwards in shock. Smiling Rika said, "Now, we're even." Renamon couldn't help but feel happy upon seeing this fun side of Rika, a rare side that she almost never showed. When they reached Shinjuku park, Terriermon and Monodramon were building very digimon like snowman. Ryo and Henry were standing side by side, watching their digimon play. Henry wore a light green jacket on an orange T-shirt with black jeans and his usual . Ryo, on the other hand, wore a cloudy grey quilted parka with the sun symbol on the left sleeve. The colour of his jeans matched Rika's and he wore brown half boots. Terriermon and Monodramon had scarves on them which made Rika wonder whether she should have given Renamon one as well.

' _Oh well, Renamon would have told me if she need one. Besides, she is used to this kind of weather for years now.'_

Then as if sensing her approach, Ryo turned in her direction and smiled.

"Merry Christmas, Rika, Renamon," he greeted in his usual 'perfect' gentlemanly way.

"Merry Christmas. So, where are we skating?" she asked.

"The lake over there froze up pretty well, so we'll skate there," answered Henry.

Together the trio and their digimon went to the lake. An eerie shadow followed them. Renamon turned back to catch a glimpse of it but it had already disappeared.

"What's wrong, Renamon?" asked Monodramon.

"It's...nothing..." she said before casting a final glance at where the shadow had been.

The lake before them, never looked more beautiful. It reflected the sun above and greenery around them. Rika gracefully slide onto the ice, like a skater entering the rink. She glided with one foot and stretching her free leg behind. Then she slide up and down as she was a ballerina. Behind her, Ryo and Henry followed. The legendary tamer caught the digimon queen off guard by overtaking her and then grabbing her hand. The latter nearly tripped but managed to balance herself.

"What gives Ryo?" she asked, crossly.

"Nothing. Hey, Rika let's dance!" he suggested. Before she could answer, Ryo pulled her close to him and placed one hand on her waist and the other grasped her left hand. Rika looked like she would protest when he gently swayed with her. It was like they were dancing on their feet and not on skates. Rika couldn't remember the last time she felt this light on her feet. It was like an icy ballroom just for the two of them. Rika felt herself flush red and quickly tried to suppress it. Ryo, on the other hand, seemed completely calm and unfazed about it.

The violet eyed girl couldn't help but wonder if hero-boy had any feelings for her. He always teased and annoyed her, yet he was the first one to be around if she was up to anything dangerous like when had decided to head down the cliff and look for Calumon in the digital world. She couldn't understand him as much as she didn't understand these growing feelings inside of her.

' _Is...this what they call love? The same way Takato feels about Jeri? I don't know...Stop it, Rika. This isn't like you.'_ Of all the people to feel this way, it just had to the most annoying tamer on Earth...and Digital World. She did her best not to meet the cerulean eyes in fear of blushing again.

Henry and the other digimon watched from afar, the former feeling happy for his two friends. He was mostly watching Rika since his best friend was a former loner and now she was opening up to a lot of people. Though, he and Takato remained as her best friends, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy towards Ryo since the older boy was able to bring out different sides of Rika, which unexpectedly surprised him. Henry had known Rika for a longer time than Ryo, but whenever the latter was around, Rika seemed more annoyed than usual and at the same time she seemed more cheery. He would sometimes catch glimpses of Rika smiling and laughing when with Ryo and felt a warm feeling inside. He, too, wanted to see her smile...no he wanted to make her smile as well. So, he quietly skated towards them.

Initially he had trouble getting close to the two tamers as Terriermon was trying to tripping him every now and then while attempting to glide on the slippery ice. Renamon chose to watch from the a withered tree whilst Monodramon made snow angels on the ground. Once, he was tired, Terriermon decided to join the dragon digimon on the snow, giving his tamer a chance to finally catch up to his friends.

"Don't leave me out you two!" he cried. Then he stretched his hand out towards Rika. She slowly let go off Ryo and took Henry's hand. Soon she and Henry were dancing away. Though not as good as Ryo, the blue-haired martial artist proved to be quite the gentleman on the ice. Rika felt a sense of warmth and comfort as she danced with him. Henry was her best friend and voice of reason. He was the only person who could calm her down when she fought with anyone, specifically Ryo. She felt strangely peaceful when she was with Henry. He was like an aromatic freshener and smelled like one too. She felt complete when she was around both Takato and Henry. They were like the A team when working together.

"If only Takato and Jeri were here too," said Rika.

"Yeah... But he and Jeri are on a date and Kazu and Kenta had Christmas plans for the whole day with their family," replied Henry.

"The latter two, I can do without," she said, just as Henry spun. He smiled. ' _Typical Rika.'_

"So, how come you didn't bring Suzie with you?" asked Rika, surprising him.

"Well...Let's just say she had plans with Ai and Mako."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Say, Rika can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"It's...It's about Ryo..." But before Henry could continue, the ground around them shook violently, causing the two to topple on the ice. Ryo was by their side instantly and helped them up.

"What was that? An earthquake?" asked Rika.

"It was but it didn't seem norm-" Before Henry could finish, another tremor shook the ground. The digimon tried to get to their respective partners only to slip and slide on the slippery ice. Only Renamon gracefully materialized before Rika. Suddenly the ice in the middle cracked open and out came an Ogremon, except it wasn't the usual green but an icy blue.

* * *

 **A/N - There you have it, Chapter 3. Although I ship Ryuki, I want to work on Rika's relationship with others. I'll probably be re-working on a lot of Chapters. As for any improvements, do let me know what you feel could make this fanfic better. If it coincides with what I feel or if I feel that you have some good pointers, then I'll work on them.**

 **Do review and let me know.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Messenger of Darkness

The tamers were stunned to see the strangely coloured digimon with an ice club. Henry pulled out his digivice. " _Hyougamon. Champion level digimon. Special attack: Ice Cudgel"_

"It looks just like Ogremon," said Rika.

"Maybe it's his twin brother or something?" suggested Terriermon.

"This is no time jokes, Terriermon!" reprimanded his Tamer. "Look out!"

Hyougamon charged at them, raising his cudgel for a smash. They were all barely able to dodge, giving the fact that they were on ice. Monodramon tried to take Hyougamon head, being the battle-loving digimon. However, just as he was about used **_beat knuckle_** _,_ the cold digimon dodged and smashed him into a tree with its cudgel.

"Monodramon!" cried Ryo, rushing towards his partner. The dragon like digimon seemed like a bunch of crumpled leaves. His partner knelt by its side , calling out its name. The little dragon stood up quickly only to fall flat on the cold powdery snow. "Steady, now, steady," Ryo told his digimon. But being the battle-loving monster, Monodramon was frustrated and once again charged towards the enemy.

"Digi-modify, Meramon's flame!" called out Ryo.

Monodramon let loose a burst of flames straight at the ogre. However, the enemy was able to dodge it by sliding on the ice. It them hurled it's cudgel like a boomerang at the dragon. The latter took a direct hit, having been caught off guard and slided across the ice.

Meanwhile, the fox-like digimon snuck up on the enemy, jumped up and released sharp diamond like leaves at it. Hyougamon blocked them with his weapon and proceeded to throw a huge ball of ice at point blank range. The fox digimon took a direct hit and was knocked towards the snow bank. "No! Renamon!" cried Rika. She glared at the ogre and pulled out a card from her deck.

"Digi-modify! Digivolution Plugin in S!" she said, slashing the card into her Digivice. The words 'Evolution' appeared on it.

"Renamon digivolve to...Kyuubimon."

The ninetale fox summoned will o'wisp at the end of her tails. " ** _Fox Tail Inferno_**!" Hyougamon was able to deflect them with its **_snow barrier_**. " ** _Dragon Wheel_** " cried Kyuubimon, turning her body into a dragon with blue flames. It would have hit had Hyougamon not dodged into last minute and landed a **Ice Cudgel** on her. The nine-tailed fox was on its knees as it was being battered by the blue ogre.

"Digi-modify! Digivolution Plugin S!" cried Henry.

Terriermon digivolved into Gargomon and began pummelling Hyougamon with **_Gargo Pellets_**. Using this opportunity, Rika used another modification card. "Digi-modify, Greymon: Mega flame!"

Kyuubimon launched a large red ball of flame. The ogre digimon, having taken a direct hit, seemed like it was down for the count, but when the nine-tailed fox readied was about to deliver the finishing blow, it dodged. Standing up, Hyougamon swayed from side to side before launching itself at Kyuubimon. The two digimon fought, sliding on the frozen lake, neither one giving in, until Gargomon launched bullets at the horned digimon.

"Digi-modify! Power activate!" cried Henry, slashing the card. Gargomon glowed brimming with energy and strength. The large bunny rushed towards the ogre and hounded it with a barrage of bullets. However, the icy digimon spun it's cudgel, deftly deflecting them. Then it made an alarming charge straight towards Rika. The girl tried to move but ended up tripping on her skates and falling on the ice. She braced herself for the attack when Kyuubimon appeared and took the hit. "No, Kyuubimon!"

As she hunched over her partner, the ogre lifted it's cudgel to deliver a blow.

"No, Rika!" cried Henry. "Get out of the way!" But the girl was unable to move.

"Digi-modify! Digivolution Plugin S!"

Monodramon digivolved into Strikedramon, then landed a **_strike claw_** , sending Hyougamon onto the snowy bank.

"You shouldn't have tried to harm her. Let's end this, Strikedramon!" said Ryo. "Digi-modify, Hypersonic!"

The half dragon, half man like digimon's speed increased greatly, allowing it to deliver the final blow on the ogre. As the digimon began dissipating into data, a familiar raspy voice spoke through its mouth.

" _This is only just the beginning tamers. We will arise and this time the digital world will be covered in darkness. Our lord will be revived once again and no one will be able to stop him, not even you **legendary tamer**_ "

Ryo's eyes widened in shock. He glanced at the dragon-like digimon that had just reverted to its rookie form. Monodramon blinked at him, with clear golden eyes. Ryo looked perplexed and yet, something about those words made him shudder. It was like he was forgetting something...something important but couldn't understand what it was. Rika and Henry watched him stiffen, a serious look on his face and glanced at each other.

"Hey, Ryo, what did that digimon mean? Do you know?" asked Henry, snapping him out of his reverie.

Composing himself, he answered, "No...I have no idea."

"I see," said Henry. " We should have a meeting with the others and let them know what happened. Let's go."

As they were leaving, Rika's eye involuntarily fell on the hunched back of the legendary tamer _._ She had realized that he was lying instantly and wondered why the he had to lie. ' _Is he hiding something from us? Or is he puzzled about those words as well?,'_ she asked herself. These thoughts were interrupted by the image of Strikedramon dealing the finishing blow. She heard a voice inside her head taunt her, _'You've truly grown weak. That was a digimon you could've have disposed of easily. But no, you let that silly bunny help you **and** allowed that annoying tamer's digimon to finish it off. I'm so disappointed.' _ There was no mistake, it was her own voice but much more emotionless and ruthless.

' _Shut up! I'm not like before!'_ said Rika to herself while shaking her head. But was to no avail as the thought did not cease to stop going on about it. Little did Rika know that this was only the beginning of all her troubles. Just when she thought she was free from it, she heard beep on her phone and so did the other two. It was a message from Takato, asking all the tamers to meet at Guilmon's hideout by noon.

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, as you might have all guessed, a ' _certain_ ' digimon will also be back. Also, I just updated the chapter to make it more longer.**

 **Special Thanks to Reihime for her review.**

 **I purposely made it so that Ryo doesn't remember his past adventures (with 01 & 02). Will join the dots in the later chapters.**

 **The messenger is a digimon we have all seen (take your guesses, and no it's not Icedevimon). Will do my best to post more chapters and do let me know if there are any areas I need to work on.**


	5. Chapter 5 - Meeting at the Hideout

As the sun ascended into the middle of the sky, all the tamers gathered at the little shack in Shinjuku Park. Once they were all there, Takato addressed the group. "The reason why I called you all here is because... Jeri and I fought against a wild digimon, while we were on our date."

The others looked shocked. "We did as well," said Henry, glancing briefly at Rika and Ryo.

"Seriously? Kenta and I had to also battle a wild one," said Kazu. "What is going on?" There were a few moments of silence before Takato cleared his throat.

"Alright everyone. Let's take turn to recount each of our encounters. I'll go first."

 _flashback_

 _Takato Matsuki, wore a blue buttoned shirt and black pants. In his hand, he carried a small gift box. He hoped that Jeri would like his Christmas present. He waited at the designated cafe named BOWLS Cafe. Takato seated himself at the couples seat section. The little clock that hung lazily on the wall showed quarter to 10. The brown-haired tamer twiddled around with his fingers nervously._

 _Last year and a month before Christmas, Takato finally managed to confess to Jeri. Of course, Henry and Rika had encouraged him all the way (the latter was also kind enough to shove him before his crush, when he was about to chicken out).But in the end, all was well and Jeri accepted his confession. She told him that she had fallen for him as well, but mainly after the D-reaper incident. And so, the two had been together for an entire year. This would be their first Christmas together as he was busy with bakery the year before._

 _'I'll definitely make this a Christmas she won't forget!' Just as Takato thought this, a bell rang and the door opened. In walked Jeri in a pretty sunflower top and black skirt. Light yellow pair of heels matched her top. She had let her hair down today, only clipping it a -hair clip. Her beaming smile when she saw Takato was the best Christmas present he could ever ask for._

 _"Merry Christmas, Takato!" she greeted, chirpily._

 _"Merry Christmas, Jeri! You look so beautiful today," he complimented without thinking and when he realized it, he blushed._

 _"Thank you Takato and you too," said Jeri, her cheeks tinted in the same shade as him. The two ordered their food and were chit-chatted about things like digimon, school and more digimon. Jeri's life seemed much better since she patched things up with her father and step-mother after the whole thing with D-Reaper. She had thanked Takato, over and over as he had been then one to boost her courage and helped her out._

 _The two exchanged Christmas presents, Takato received a well-knit scarf and Jeri got a pretty heart-shaped red pendant. Once their meals arrived the peacefully enjoyed it. For the view of others, they were like a new-born innocent couple, which was very true. Even though a year had passed, then two had only gone on dates, enjoyed themselves and tried to get to know the other better. They only road they had gotten to so far was hugging each other. But today, Takato was determined to share his first kiss with Jeri. He even planned to take to a place where there was a mistletoe._

 _After relaxing in the cafe, they were heading out when Calumon suddenly ran into with a panicky look on his face. Upon seeing the two, Calumon quickly ran into Jeri's arms._

 _"What's wrong Calumon?" she asked concerned. Calumon merely shivered but pointed towards the south. The two tamers managed to see the red tail of the dinosaur digimon, eyes as if locked on a target, tearing down the road towards Shinjuku Park. The two tamers immediately chased after him with Takato calling out to his partner. Guilmon only responded to Takato once they had entered a twisted digi-field. Amidst an eerie looking field stood a bear-like digimon. The brown-haired tamer pulled out his D-power._

 _'Grizzlymon, champion level, beast type digimon. Special Attack: Maul Attack'_

 _"Guilmon, time to digivolve," called out Takato. Pulling out a card, he slashed it into his D-power._

 _"Digi-Modify, Digivolution Plugin S"_

 _The little red dinosaur grew into a much bigger one. Growlmon tackled Grizzlymon and grappled with it. The purple bear began attacking the former with its sharp claws, hitting a lot of its vital points._

 _'Growlmon!' yelled Takato, before slashing another card. " Hyperspeed activate!"_

 _The giant dinosaur circled the bear, moving faster and faster, confusing the purple bear. Then it launched a huge ball of flame. 'Pyroblaster' said Growlmon. It was a direct hit. Just as the bear was beginning to dissipate into data, a rasy voice said," This is only just the beginning tamers. We will arise and this time the digital world will be covered in darkness. Our lord will be revived once again and no one will be able to stop him, not even you_ _ **legendary tamer.**_ _"_

*end of flashback*

"So, that thing said the same thing as a the Hyougamon we fought," said Henry. Then he recounted the tale of their encounter cutting straight to the digimon's appearance. Last were Kazu and Kenta. Kazu tol them abut how the duo were out with their respective families when Guardromon and Marine-Angemon sensed a digimon. The two had to excuse themselves and immediately headed towards the digi-field. They fought against a Red-Veggiemon, which proved to be quite a difficult task, even with a mega level digimon like MarineAngemon. For some reason, it seemed to be able to anticipate and dodge a lot of attacks and avoiding attacking the mega, instead focusing on the champion. It threw chili peppers at the robot-like digimon causing it to be temporarily blinded. The Red Veggie began whipping the robot with its spiky vine arms. Kenta glanced at his partner, immediately spat out large love bubbles, eliminating the champion instantly. Just as it was disappearing, the raspy voice delivered the same message.

"But what could that message mean? And why did it mention Ryo in particular?" asked Takato. All eyes were on the said legendary tamer. He rested against the wall with his arms behind his head. "I have no idea myself," said Ryo. "But I have a very bad feeling about it."

"Are you sure there isn't anything you're hiding from us?" asked Henry, rather bluntly. Ryo looked him straight in the eye. "Why would I lie?" Seeing the friction that seemed be forming, Takato intervened. "Let's all just be cautious for now. Also, we need to head to Hypnos and report this to Mr. Yamaki."

"Aww, man. Do we have'ta?" cribbed Kazu. "I mean, the digi-portal is right here."

"Yeah, let's just go ahead at beat the bad guys!" said Guardromon.

"Even though you nearly got your ass kicked by another champion?" asked Renamon.

"Hey!" cried Kazu. "Guardromon put up a good fight, I'll have you know!"

"Oh, sure. That's why Kenta's digimon had to save you both, right?" snapped Rika.

"What was that?" yelled Kazu, but was interrupted by Jeri. "Let's all calm down, ok?"

"Much as we want to, we can't just waltz into the portal," said Henry. "What if we aren't able to get back? Takato's right, we need to report to Hypnos."

"Will you...be telling your father as well, Henry?" asked Rika. She looked at him with eyes that seemed to have a hint of worry. Henry patted her on the head with a slight smile. "Don't worry, I won't tell him. At least, not yet..."

"But he'll probably find out from Yamaki anyway, won't he?" asked Kenta.

"Then I'll keep it from him until then."

"So, shall we all go?" asked Jeri. The others nodded. They all left towards the familiar building of Hypnos.

* * *

 **A/N: Ok, I've done my best for this chapter. I know Kazu and Kenta's version of the story was much shorter but yeah... couldn't think of expanding it.**


	6. Chapter 6 - The Strange Message

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"A blonde man wearing sunglasses paced up and down with worry lines across his forehead. Two ladies, his assistants were busy tapping away at their respective laptops, spouting co-ordinates of the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"wild ones/em. Of all days, today there were three wild ones on the loose in three different places at the same time. Yamaki flicked his lighter all the while studying the strange numbers on his screen. The digital fields appeared randomly like once or twice in a year despite the strong barrier they had set up. Even then it was usually one digimon. Those were easily handled by Hypnos. But on this day, no matter how strong the juggernaut programme was, those digimon were just not sent back to the digital world. He slammed his fist on the table and fumed. Just then the three red dots on the screen suddenly disappeared./p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""The wild ones are gone. I detect the signals of several digivices," said Reika. Without having to say anything, everyone knew at once who had stopped the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"wild ones/em./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Those tamers just seem to have the knack of being in the right place at the right time, huh?" said Megumi./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"Yamaki was relieved. His was almost about to dial their numbers himself. Yet, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling inside of him. The two ladies got off their respective floating seats and stood beside him. They were discussing about the sudden appearance of the three digimon when the screen behind him flashed with a strange beeping sound. This startled the three adults who immediately turned around with alarmed expression. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"On the dark screen, silver letters slowly floated down like the computer had been infected with the acid-rain virus. The message read thus:/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""He who has transcended time,/span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"Will once again arise from the dead/span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"Those who were defeated will stand tall /span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"The one to lead us to glory and victory/span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"Is the cold, heartless one/span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"This time the world will be shrouded in darkness."/span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"They read in shock and Yamaki had tried finding the source of the strange message to no avail. There was no trace of the sender. No link, no path even from the digital world. It was like the message had come from some kind of rift. Megumi had the presence of mind to note down the message. Once she did, the message vanished from the screen. Try as he might, Yamaki was unable to retrieve it. To make matters worse there was a sudden blackout causing the entire building to be shrouded in darkness. The whole of Hypnos was in an uproar as they received a call from the power station stating that something was eating away at the supply and then the government called them to say that span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanthe prime minister was threatened by a blood-coloured message on his personal computer. Yamaki banged his hand against the table's hard surface in frustration. Too many things were happening all at once. Just then, one of his colleagues came in to inform that the Tamers had arrived to see him. He asked him to send them in. Within minutes, they were all assembled in the dark room./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Woah! It's dark in here! Aren't there any flashlights?" asked Kazu./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"Just then he saw the scary image of Yamaki as the latter flicked his lighter, causing the flame to illuminate his face. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Aaah!" screamed Kazu. "Man, Yamaki. You scared me!" Rika elbowed him and he muttered a quick apology. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""What happened, Mr. Yamaki?" asked Takato. The older man grunted./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""First three abnormal digimon appeared. No matter what we did we couldn't get rid of them. Then the disappeared just like they appeared, though I assume you guys have something to do with that." The tamers nodded. "Lastly, a weird message come on the screen and we have a blackout." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""What message?" asked Henry. Just then the lights came on much to everyone's relief. Now they didn't have to be creeped out by a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"certain/em blonde's face while they spoke to him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"Megumi stepped forward on her boss' command and showed them the crypt she had noted. Even as the tamers went through it, they couldn't make any sense. One tamer felt familiar shudders down his spine, though he knew not why, as he read the first few lines. He felt as if he was forgetting something important but wasn't sure what. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""I wonder if this is connected the message that those digimon we fought," stated Takato. Yamaki raised an eyebrow while the brown-haired tamer explained. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""It is possible that the two are linked," said Yamaki. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Could this be a reference to the D-Reaper perhaps?" asked Jeri./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""I'm not sure. As far as I know, the D-Reaper wasn't something that surpassed time," answered Reika. "At least, that's what Shibumi and the others said."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Then that must mean it's some kind of Digimon. If it's one that has been around in a long time, I'm guessing the Digimon Sovereigns might know something," suggested Henry./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Good idea, Henry," said Takato./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""That's my partner, ain't he smart?"gloated Terriermon. Henry gently knocked the bunny on its head. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAll eyes were now on Hypnos' boss. Yamaki rubbed his chin. "I don't know. It would mean that we create another arc, on that can pass through the barrier we set up. We will also need to provide you guys with communication devices and such, not to mention you'll be risking your lives, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"again/em" He made sure to emphasize the last word./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Oh, come on," said Rika. "It's not like we haven't been able to handle ourselves before. We'll be just fine."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""She's right. If there is a threat to both worlds, then it's our duty as tamers to stop it," said Takato./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""We aren't kids anymore. We can handle ourselves," said Kenta./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"Yamaki looked at each of their determined faces. "Fine," he relented. "You'll leave in 5 days. That's the amount of time that it'll take for us to get things ready." The tamers nodded and left./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"That evening, each of tamers informed their respective parents. Takato's parents made a fuss over him and his mother helped him pack over the next few days (albeit a lot of unnecessary things as well). On the main day, Takato made sure to take only those things he required and quietly left the other things in is room before leaving. Jeri's parents were both worried for her and didn't want her to leave. However, the high school girl remained firm about her decision. Even though she didn't have a partner anymore, she would still fight alongside of her friends. Her father gave her a tazer and pepper spray with hopes that it would help her somehow. She gave both her father, step-mother and Masato a hug before leaving. Henry had tried to leave his sister Suzie behind but the younger girl was two steps ahead of him. She, Ai, Mako and their respective digimon managed to pack their things and make a quiet getaway by telling their family that they were off on a camping trip. Kenta and Kazu said quick goodbyes to their families before pushing off (rather neither wanted their family to see them cry). /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"After she informed her mother and grandmother, Rika went for a photoshoot with her mother where they two modelled together as a mother-daughter team. Once Rika was done with her packing, Rumiko handed her two photos of that day's modelling. One was a single picture of Rika in a black halter neck gown and the other was one with her mother, the two wearing traditional kimonos. She thanked her mother and then left. The legendary tamer planned to leave behind a letter so that he didn't have to face his parents with guilty face. Unfortunately for him, both his father caught him trying to leave in the middle of the night and he ended up spilling the beans to both his parents. Naturally they were both upset but knew their son that their son had to go. His mother made a few quick snacks for her son and the little dragon and his father dropped him off at Hypnos, tears in his eyes. Ryo felt even worse but his father patted him on the head before leaving and told him to come back safely to them./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"Soon, all the tamers were gathered at Hypnos. Henry was chagrined upon seeing Suzie, Ai and Mako but the middle school girl wouldn't back down. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""I thought I told you it was dangerous and you couldn't come!" yelled Henry, losing all composure./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""We are not little kids, Henry! We're tamers too and we will fight!" argued Suzie. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""That's right, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"onii-san/em (big brother). Mako, Suzie and I can handle ourselves," said Ai. But martial artist was em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"not/em convinced. The three children and Henry were arguing until Rika intervened. She placed a hand on Henry's shoulder. "Loosen up, Henry. We went into the digital world when we were the same age Ai and Mako here. We've also been equally reckless. Besides Suzie's certainly much mature than she was before. Let them all come. They're tamers too after all. If you're that worried, then why don't we be the chaperones and watch over them?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"Henry let her words sink and relaxed. Sighing, he gave in. The three children cheered and thanked the flame-haired girl. With that they were all set. Yamaki handed each of them a communication device. Without further ado, the portal to the digital world was open. In came the white vehicle, a much bigger one than the previous one to accommodate the grown up tamers and their digimon. Once they were inside, Guilmon spoke to the AI. "Nice to see you again Arc! Thank you for helping us last time."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"The Arc made a squeaking noise as if to agree./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Ok, arc! Time to take off! Next stop, the digital world!" said Takato. Each tamer sat on a seat that had been added into the arc. Fastening their seatbelts, the arc slowly moved and was soon following the created path into the digital world./span/p 


	7. Chapter 7 - The Journey

The arc was floating through the realm between the real world and the digital world. The tamers were casually chit-chatting as if they were going on a picnic. Takato held Jeri's hand throughout the trip, Henry was cautioning Suzie and the other middle-school tamers about the do's and don'ts to follow. His sister and Mako weren't paying much attention to him and instead asked Rika about advice on what kind of modify cards to use in different situations. Over the years, Suzie had grown to admire Rika as a tamer more than the Ryo, even though she had received her first digi-modificaton card from him... Rika was of course more than glad that she had yet another disciple under her wing, though she would never explicitly show it. And so, while she taught the other two, Henry ended up lecturing Ai, who listened to him with utmost interest. She had developed a small crush on him over the years of coming over to their place and playing with his sister. Kazu and Kenta were talking to Ryo, though the latter seemed to be off it. He still kept a smiling face and pretended to listen to the two. Though his mind had been only the dark message they had heard earlier. All of their digimon were either eating (Guilmon and Monodramon), playing some kind of game (Guardromon, MarineAngemon, Terriermon, Impmon and Calumon) and quietly sitting without so much as a noise (Renamon). A sudden violent jerk shocked all of them.

The arc suddenly began a spiral descended causing all of them to spin round and round within it. They all screamed until it stopped mid-air. A jet of black ink splatted against the glass and an eye like that of Parasimon could be seen. It looked around at all those within. It then focused on someone in the middle and smile formed from within the ink. The tamers and their digimon immediately went into battle mode. However, the ink-like digimon merely laughed and dissipated into a smoky mist.

"What was that all about?" asked Kazu.

"I don't know. But we'd better be careful," said Takato, still holding Jeri's hand. She squeezed his hand. The arc slowly moved and began to prepare for its landing. Once it landed smoothly, the tamers and their digimon tumbled out one by one. They were now standing on the desert just like when they had come all those years ago when they had ventured to save Calumon. A wave of nostalgia hit them all. It was so good to be here again.

"So, where do you begin our search for the Sovereigns?" asked Jeri.

"Good question," said Takato. "Um...uh...I don't suppose we could wander around calling out to them?"

"Sure and they'll definitely answer our call saying 'hey, over here!' right?," said Rika, sarcastically. "Don't you have any better tamers?"  
"Hmmmm...Actually, I think I have a rough idea of their location," said Ryo. All eyes were on him.

"That's the legendary tamer for ya! Will you guide us there, Ryo?" asked Kazu, his eyes shining adoringly at his hero.

The older boy scratched the back of his head. "I could be mistaken...It has been many years after all."

"Oh, stop being so humble and just lead us, oh _perfect_ one," said Rika, giving him a slight punch on the face.

"It's ok even if it's wrong. Although I'm sure it's not since we trust your experience. A lead is still a lead. Please guide us to the Ryo," urged Takato.

The older tamer agreed and began leading the troop towards the west. They walked for days and days, camping at little spots. It was already a week since they arrived yet they hadn't reached their destination. What was more disturbing was the fact that no digimon came to attack them. If any came, it was only to be friendly or to hero-worship Ryo (much to the digimon queen's dismay). This only made the Tamers feel even more unsettled, like the calm before the storm. It was night time again and this time they set up camp near a cave. It was quite a large one though none had seen it in their previous venture, except Ryo.

"How long till we reach the place, Ryo?" asked Kazu.

"Hmmmm...From here I would say by tomorrow morning," answered Ryo.

"Great!" said Takato. Henry pulled out his laptop (it was given by Yamaki before they left), pulled in his D-power and immersed himself in analysing the message by comparing them to the various digimon they had fought. Kenta was helping him as well. Curious about what they were upto, Rika sat next them.  
"What are you guys doing?" she asked.

"I'm trying to figure out what those two messages could mean," replied Henry, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"We've been analysing the data of the digimon we know so far to see if any of them have anything to do with time," chimed in Kenta.

"What about Gulfmon? He seemed to have that kind of ability when we fought him last time," suggested Rika.

"I already analyzed him. He does have potential but I don't think he's as powerful as this message seems to suggest." He took off his D-power. "This isn't enough. We need data of more digimon."

"Hmmm...How about using Ryo's D-Power? He was in the digital world longer than us," suggested Rika. Upon hearing his name, Ryo turned his head in her direction, raising an eyebrow. She ushered him to come over.

"Henry needs your D-Power," she said. She didn't have to say anything more for he understood. He handed the technician his D-Power, then plonked himself next to Rika. They were sitting so close that their arms touched ever so slightly.

"Must you sit this stick so close to me?" asked Rika.  
"Oh? But from what I see there is a 30mm gap. So, I'm not exactly sticking to you," retorted Ryo.

"Right..."

Though the two of them continued to chatter and bicker like they usually did, both had a warm feeling coursing inside them. Kazu sat next to his best friend and was gloating about how awesome Ryo was to be able to meet so many digimon. Rika rolled her eyes at this and was about give a snide remark but her eyes fell on the now silent tamer. His facial expression seemed so far off that she couldn't help but wonder what those cerulean eyes were seeing. The little dragon, who and somehow digivolved into Cyberdramon seemed to be agitated but didn't take off after any enemy digimon.

Meanwhile, Takato, Jeri and the younger tamers took the opportunity to explore the cave. It wasn't very deep, however, there was a faint florescent light coming from within. As they neared it, they saw many strange inscriptions on the wall.

"What is all this?" asked Jeri, as Takato switched on his flashlight.

"It's seems to be in some kind of language," said Suzie, running her hand over some of the markings.

"I don't recognize this language though. Is it some kind of specially created one?" asked Mako, pulling out his mini telescope to have a better look at the small writings. "I think this must be some kind of digimon language. Hey, Impmon, can you read this?" he asked, looking at the imp-like digimon. The purple-coloured digimon stepped forward and squinted his eyes while staring at the squiggle like writings. He shook his head. "No, I can't. This must be something the humans came up with."

"Hmmm... But I've never seen anything like it," said Jeri. "Though, I feel that this place possibly holds some kind of power."

"I wonder if it's some kind of food recipe," said Guilmon causing the others to sweatdrop.

"I don't think so," said Takato. "Is food all you can think about Guilmon?"

"I also think about you, Takato and everyone as well," replied Guilmon. Takato couldn't help but smile at this. "Besides, I can smell something nice from these walls. It's like...like the Guilmon bread you bake!" His tamer couldn't help but shake his head at the analogy.

"But Guilmon's right about the smell," said Calumon. "I can smell a sweet fragrance too, like a some kind of garden."

"You're both not making sense right now," said Mako.

"Wish we had an archaeologist with us. Maybe they can tell us what it is," suggested Jeri.

"I don't think they can help us within things about the digital world. But I know someone who does," said Takato. "I'll take a few pictures of these and send them to Yamaki. He and his team will probably be able to figure it out."

"Good thinking, Takato." After sending the Hypnos leader the data, the 3 tamers and their digimon came out. Takato reported all that was inside the cave to the others. "Hmmmm... Interesting," said Henry. "I'll check it out as soon as I've finished analyzing Ryo's D-power."

"Since when did you become a computer geek Henry?" asked Rika.

Henry merely looked at her, shrugged and went back to digi-analyzing. The tamers had a quiet dinner after which Henry and Kenta went to check the caves. By the time they came out, the sky was blue again. Neither Henry nor Kenta had been able to figure out the language so they decided to wait for Yamaki's report. Even though they had travelled a lot, none of the tamers were sleepy, very surprisingly. Hence, they set off to find the sovereigns once again.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know this wasn't much. Do let me know how it was. The sovereigns will be in the next chapter


	8. Chapter 8 - A talk with the Sovereigns

The tamers travelled till they reached place surrounded by ravines. Ryo went up to the edge, looked down and yelled, "Azulongmon, Baihumon, Ebonwumn, Zhuqiamon are you there?" For a few minutes there was silence. He called out once more and waited. Still no response.

"Maybe they're not here?" said Terriermon. "Might have gone to have a council meet or something."

"Terriermon, this is no time to be joking," said Henry, knocking the bunny lightly on the head.

"This is strange," answered Ryo, walking back towards the others. "The Sovereigns are usually around here. Something must have happened." Just as he said those words, the ground shook. From the ravine emerged a pair of flame-colored wings. Zhuqiamon stood before then and he wasn't exactly cheerful. Not that the he was one to happy digimon to begin with, but he seemed grumpier than usual. Slowly, another digimon, one with two heads and large tree on its back emerged.

"Zhuqiamon, Ebonwumon er... how have you been?" asked Ryo.

"Is this really the time for pleasantries?" snapped Rika.

Zhuqiamon might have glared at her but no one would know since he looked angry already. "Why are you tamers here?" he asked, in a booming voice.

"A few strange things happened in the real world. We were wondering if you knew anything about it," said Takato.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" he bellowed.

"Calm down, Zhuqiamon. Let us hear what they have to say," said the tortoise digimon for the first time. "Go on, boy," he said urging the gogglehead to continue. The pheonix merely hmphed.

A scared Takato, plucked up his courage and began explaining all that had happened. "So, has there been any strange occurrences in the digital world?" The tortoise digimon quietly took in all that was said and remained silent while he thought.

"Indeed, the digital world seems to heading towards another direction. Dark forces, the likes of which we have faced before, have arisen. Normally, this shouldn't be a problem but..."he said after a while.

"What is it, Ebuwonmon?" asked Henry.

"Azulongmon has been missing for a while now. No matter how much we searched, we could not find him," he said.

The tamers gasped in shock. 'W-What do you mean?" asked Takato. "S-Surely, he can't be _that_ hard to find, given that he's a large dragon and one of the holy beasts and all..."

The great turtle merely shook his head while the phoenix glared at them, more irritated than ever.

"Why are we telling these children about it?" argues Zhuqiamon. "It's not like they can help us! Rather, they will be the ones to destroy us. I don't see why we ought to let them live!"

The tamers were shocked by his words. "Now, now calm down. We mustn't be hasty," said Ebuwonmon. The turtle digimon turned to the tamers. "Now then where do I even begin? You all might want to sit down. This will be quite a long tale." The tamers did as they were told and Ebuwonmon began his long narration.

* _flashback*_

 _A month ago, the sovereigns were having their usual yearly meeting. The digital world was safe and not much had changed. The other younger digimon steered clear of the Holy Beasts so as to not get in their way (basically they didn't want a certain phoenix to fry them) . The four beasts sat in silence as if they were communicating through the mind. Their eyes were stared fixedly on the old dragon. He looked he was about to say something but pursed his lips instead wondering how he would relay the information he received. The silence went on for quite a while until Zhuqiamon shattered the quietness and uneasiness with his booming voice, "Azulongmon! If you have nothing to say, then why did you ask us to gather? We have better things to do you know!"_

 _"Sorry, Zhuqiamon... It's just that this matter is very serious indeed. I'm not sure how to put this in words," said Azulongmon, rather gloomily._

 _"Well, out with it! We don't have all day!"_

 _"He's right. Tell us, what is it that troubles you so?" asked Ebuwonmon._

 _Azulongmon took a deep breath and said in a quiet, grim voice, "He's back. The digimon we have been fearing seems to have found a way to revive himself yet again."_

 _"Huh? You're not making much sense! What do you-" Baihumon stopped mid-sentence as realization dawned on him. "Y-You don't mean...But that's impossible!"_

 _"It is hard to believe I know I saw signs of him myself. It seems to have gather some rather powerful allies. We don't have much time. We need to do something about him," said Azulongmon._

 _"I'll go. Just tell me where the bastard is and I'll kill him once and for all!" said the phoenix digimon, it's red wings glowing crimson._

 _"Don't be hasty, Zhuqiamon," cautioned Ebuwonmon. "If it's really him then we have to take all measures possible. The safety of the digital world will depend on our actions."_

 _"So, what are we going to do? Ask the tamers to help or defeat him ourselves?" asked Baihumon, scraping the ground with his paws as if waiting to fight._

 _"That is the difficult part. I'd rather we solve it on our own however, we need that child's help yet again as that child is the only one that can stop that vile creature," said Azulongmon. "However...it would seems that the evil one has more in store for us."_

 _"What do you mean?" asked Zhuqiamon._

 _"I received an encrypted message from an unknown source. According to that, the child will be used as a double edged sword. In fact it maybe even better to consider the child to become our enemy," said Azulongmon._

 _"Then we'll just kill the child. Besides, as long as the child exists so does that_ _ **thing**_ _. By killing the child, the evil digimon won't be able to stand a chance!" said Zhuqiamon._

 _"That is where you are mistaken, my friend," said the dragon. "We_ _ **need**_ _the child to destroy the digimon. If the child isn't there, the evil one will just take over the digital world."_

 _"So what do you propose we do?"_

 _"We need to get the child to remain on our side, right?" said Ebuwonmon._

 _"Yes," answered Azulongmon. "That is our only choice."_

 _"So, what do we do now? Send a message to the tamers?" asked Baihumon._

 _"Not yet. We don't have much data on the enemy yet. And the digital world doesn't seem to be in trouble..._ _ **yet**_ _" The dragon stressed on the last word. "I'll go and see if I can get any more information. If I don't return in a few days, get the tamers help to protect the digital world."_

 _The others agreed though the phoenix seemed to be in displeasure. Azulongmon disappeared towards the horizon. When he didn't comeback for 3 to 4 days, the holy beasts were about to ping the tamers, when a sudden black and white blast appeared, followed by an army of only too familiar enemies. While the beasts tried to keep everything at bay. The chaos only increased. Baihumon went in search of the blue dragon while the other two tried to protect the innocent digimon. Just when they thought things would get worse, the fighting suddenly ceased. The sovereigns assumed the white tiger to have prevailed and hence the peace. However, when even he didn't return, they knew that this was only the calm before the storm. As they contemplated what to do, the turtle and phoenix spotted a dark scarecrow digimon. Though this normally never spoke nor did anything but look, this one had crazed red eyes and it's colour was like that of Devimon. When it hopped upto them, Zhuqiamon and Ebuwonmon watched it with guarded eyes. The next second, the digimon popped like a balloon filled with confetti and the strange message was heard. It was the very same one that the tamers heard. The two holy beasts were shocked and weren't sure what to do. A few days later, the tamers appeared._

 _*end of flashback*_

The tamers took in all the information. "So, basically there's a digimon possibly more powerful than the sovereigns that has captured or finished two holy beasts," said Rika.

"If any of the two sovereigns were killed, then we'd the digital world would have become unstable and things would have been a lot more worse." interrupted Ebuwonmon. "No, I think it's safe to assume the two were captured."

"I see. So we have two captured sovereigns, an all to peaceful digital world which eerie in itself and we have a digimon that has transcended time itself and wants to ensure the digital world remains in darkness," summed up Rika.

"Well, what should we do then?" asked Kazu. "We can't exactly wait around here."

"How about we split up into two groups?" suggested Henry. " One group stays with the Sovereigns to prot- I mean act as their first line of defence." He looked at the phoenix cautiously. "The second group will investigate the cave and look for more leads about the enemy."

"Good idea, Henry," said Takato. "But how do we decide who is in which group?"

"I have an idea...," said Jeri.

* * *

A/N: Sorry I took so long to post this chapter. Had a lot on my hands. Anyway, do read and review and tell how this was.


	9. Chapter 9 - Friend or Foe?

The tamers drew a lot with the numbers 1 and 2. Once they drew the lots, the team was divided thus:

Group 1 (Investigation team) - Henry, Ryo, Rika, Kenta and Ai (with their respective digimon, except Ai)

Group 2 (Guard team) - Takato, Jeri, Kazu, Suzie and Mako (with their respective digimon)

"I guess that settles things," said Takato. Mako looked worriedly at his sister. Ai patted him on the head with a smile. " Don't worry. I'll be ok."

"B-But we're both Impmon's partner. How can I-"

"Like I said don't worry. We'll take turns," said Ai. She turned to her digimon "Impmon, please protect Mako."

"Yeah, I will. You take care of yourself, AI," said Impmon.

"We'll be watching over Ai and I'll personally keep an eye out for her," said Henry, startling Ai. The young girl blushed.

"Thank you, _onii-san_. I'll make sure to protect Suzie at all times!" said Mako. Henry nodded.

"Lopmon is with me so I can handle myself!" said Suzie, joining them.

"That maybe so, but remember that I'll still chaperoning all of you. If anything thing happens, I'll be responsible," chided Henry.

"We're not little kids anymore, Henry! We can take care of ourselves!" protested Suzie. Her brother was about to retort when Rika intervened.

"Alright, alright. Can we get going before you guys start another sibling fight? " she asked. Before Henry could protest, she proceeded to dragging him away. With a wave, the investigation team set off. They retraced their steps towards the mysterious cave. Upon reaching, Henry and Kenta wordlessly began analyzing the crypted data. Ai did her best to help them while Rika and Ryo remained on guard. The data decoding went on for hours together with neither boy showing any signs of resting anytime soon. When skies turned dark, Kenta finally set aside his laptop for a break whilst Henry continued. MarineAngemon washed Kenta's face with heart shaped bubbles, as if to refresh him. Ai continued to sit by Henry's side and watched him with much interest. Terriermon did his level best to crack jokes and lighten up the tense atmosphere around his tamer but was brushed aside gently but firmly each time. Ryo and Rika went ahead and set a campfire. Rika pulled out some snacks that her mother and grandmother had packed and distributed them to the others. As they were munching on them, Cyberdramon growled.

"What is it Cyberdramon?" asked Ryo. The beast like digimon's growl only increase in pitch. Renamon, who was next to Cyberdramon narrowed her eyes. "Something approaches," she said. Immediately, the tamers except Henry were on alert. Rika, Ryo and their digimon went outside the cave only to witness a black swirling mist head towards them.

"W-What is that?" asked Rika.

"I don't know," answered Ryo. "But judging from Cyberdramon's expression, whatever it is can't be good."

The black swirl slowly began to dissipate like will O' wisps. From within, a pointed hat with a skull came out followed by a digimon whose face was hidden by its cape. In one hand it held a sun-like staff. Rika's device read - "Wizardmon, Champion level, Data type."

The tamers and Cyberdramon immediately took up a defensive stance. The kitsune however, calming walked towards the wizard. "R-Renamon?" called Rika, in surprise. Renamon merely glanced at Rika and nodded before turn back towards the digimon before her.

"Wizardmon..." she said, in a voice ever so soft. "What brings you here?"

"Re..na..mon," stuttered Wizardmon, as if struggling to speak. "I...don't have much...time. You...must...find it soon..."

"You're not making sense. What must we find?" asked Renamon, puzzled.

Suddenly, Wizardmon, convulsed, like he'd been electrocuted. "Wizardmon! What's wrong?" asked the kitsune, worriedly.

"STAY BACK! D-Don't come near me!" he warned, while writhing on the ground. Renamon ignored the wizard and held him in her paws while kneeling next to him. The two tamers could only watch in confusion.

"Y-You must fi-find t-that...Before the evil one does," said Wizardmon, through shallow breaths.

"Wizardmon, I do not understand what you mean-" started Renamon, but Wizardmon pointed towards the cave. Then suddenly, just as he had arrived, a black mist came pour out from around him, changing his colour to a dark shade. His blue eyes turned red and he attacked Renamon with his staff.  
"Renamon!" yelled Rika, her digivice shining bright.

"Renamon digivolves to...Kyuubimon."

Cyberdramon, who had somehow been holding back, launched himself at the dark wizard. Wizardmon dodged and summoned a thunder cloud. The Champion's attack barely had an effect on the Ultimate. Cyberdramon was about launch his 'Erase claw' when Kyuubimon called out to him. "No, don't kill Wizardmon! He's just not in his right senses!" But it was too late. The dragon had already launched several blasts straight at the wizard.

"STOP IT, CYBERDRAMON!" yelled Ryo, pulling out his digivice to restrain his partner. While he struggled with taming his partner, Rika rushed through the blasts to Wizardmon.

"Rika!" cried Kyuubimon. Rika climbed on her partner to rescue the Wizard but it was too late. The blasts had already done the damage and Wizardmon was already disintegrating to data. Before he was entirely deleted, he said, " You...must get it...And help her...Tailmon..."

They expected wizardmon's data to be absorbed by Cyberdramon. However, the dark data entered Kyuubimon instead. "Wh-What? Why? I didn't want to load his data!" cried Kyuubimon, reverting to her in-training from.

"Renamon, what's going on?" asked Rika. "What's your connection to that wizardmon?" Renamon in silence, unable to answer her tamer. "Renamon?" asked Rika again, worriedly. But the kitsune avoided her eyes, choosing to stare at the ground in shock at the events that took place.

"Rika, Renamon, are you both ok?" called Ryo. Cyberdramon seemed to have calmed down.

"Y-Yeah, we're ok," answered Rika, before looking at her partner.

"I'll explain once we are inside," said Renamon quietly before heading back inside the cave. It was the first time in a while since Renamon kept anything from Rika. The fact that something was troubling her made Rika even more worried.

"Let's go," said Ryo, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah," answered Rika. But as they were walking back, a cold gust of wind gushed past Rika, sending a chill down her spine. For a split second, she thought it was IceDevimon again. But there was nothing around. She hugged herself as she headed towards the warmth of the cave.

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, in my story Renamon also has a connection to Wizardmon. Will do my best to update often!**


	10. Chapter 10 - Discovery

Ryo reported their encounter with the others. Everyone's eyes were on Renamon. "I wonder where I'll even begin..." she said, closing her eyes briefly. She could feel her partner's unblinking eyes on her. "A few months or maybe even a year before I met Rika, I was just like any other digimon wandering the digital world. I was picked on by a lot of digimon and wished to be stronger. Once I'd taken on a pack of Pagumon. I was able to defeat a few but there were too many. Just when I thought it was all over that those two appeared."

"'Those two'", asked Rika. "I thought you only knew Wizardmon.

"I had indeed met Wizardmon and another friend of his...Tailmon," said Renamon. "They helped me out and patched me up. They were working for dark digimon at that time and asked me to join them since I seemed to be strong. So, I fought and fought till I evolved into my current rookie form. I shared many happy, hard and fun times with those two." As she said this, Renamon eyes seemed so far away. ' _They must be have been really good friends,"_ thought Rika.

"But that came to an end," continued Renamon. "We were on a mission when we came across a strange device. Curious, we tried tinkering around with it but nothing happened. But as we were about to leave, a grey portal of sorts appeared and out came two long tentacles. Before we could react, the tentacles wrapped themselves around me pulling me in. Wizardmon and Tailmon did their best to free me however none of their attacks worked. Before I knew it, I was dragged into the portal. I struggled against the tentacles and finally managed to wriggle free. I turned to face my opponent but there wasn't anything there. In fact I was in a strange world, that was neither the digital world nor the human world. As I wandered through this strange place, I came across a blinding light. "

"When I came too next, I found myself back in the digital world but it wasn't the original world I was from but another one. I wandered for days and days searching for my two friends but I couldn't find them. A lot of the digimon were vary of me and began picking fights me. So, I fought, loaded their data and fought some more. This was how I was until I met you...Rika," finished Renamon.

"Renamon...," said her partner. "I'm sorry, I couldn't be there for you sooner."

"Don't worry Rika. I'm glad I met you when I did." Rika smiled.

"When you said spoke about the original digital world and another one...Are you saying the place we are in now is not the same digital world that you had come from?" asked Henry, shocking the others. Renamon nodded silently.

"Then... could it be possible that...?"

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT WONG!" yelled Rika, standing up to defend the kitsune. "RENAMON'S MY PARTNER! THERE'S NO WAY, just...no way that..." Her violet eyes flared while her arms trembled.

"We mustn't jump to any conclusions," said Ryo quietly but assertively. There was a stern edge to his voice. " We don't have any proof of it." He placed an arm on Rika's shoulder to calm her down. She looked at him then at Renamon.

"I wasn't accusing Renamon. I merely stated it as a possibility," said Henry.

"Momentai! Let's all calm down here," said Terriermon.

"He's right, let's not fight," said Ai. "We should probably explore this cave more while Henry and Kenta are decoding the glphys."

"But Ai, this cave just has this one big room with glyphs. There is no other passage or anything here," said Kenta. Marine Angemon cooed in agreement.

"We won't know that until we try, right?"said Ai, walking towards one of the glyph covered walls. She ran a finger over a few writings. "Maybe there is some kind of secret passage way hidden somewhere."

"There's just no way," said Kenta. "Henry and I have been breaking our head decoding these writings but so far we have nothing but gibberish."

"Wait! I think Ai has a point. What if the secret code to opening a hidden passage is hidden among the rest of the glyphs? If we can arrange and rearrange them, then we can possibly find something!" said Henry. Ai blushed with pride, glad to be of some help to the blue haired tamer.

Henry proceeded to tapping away at his laptop. Kenta sighed and joined him. Rika stood up and decided to walk around the cave while Renamon pondered over her late friend's message. Ryo and Cyberdramon set up a small campfire with things he had packed before coming. Ai ran her fingers over the glyphs as in hopes that she would find the 'secret door'. Though she had just assumed there would be a hidden passage, she wished one would appear. The thought of Henry praising her for discovering it before he or Kenta finished deciphering the code sent a bubble of happiness within her.

Rika, tired of wandering aimlessly through the cave, decided to help Ryo set up the campfire. But he had already finished lighting the fire and was currently trying to make dinner. Rika quietly helped him cut vegetables. Together, they prepared a very delicious stew.

"Thanks for the help, Rika," said Ryo.

"No problem."

"Hey, are you...alright? I'm sure Henry didn't mean anything bad..."

"I know. Henry's usually considerate of other people's feelings. But when he's trying to solve a code or puzzle or play detective, he doesn't hold back when stating his mind. It's rare but those are times that he's most harsh," said Rika.

"You've really observed Henry a lot, huh?"

"Well, duh. He knows me well and I him. We've been best friends since a long time," said Rika. "Still, I don't know what to think, especially after hearing Renamon's story."

"I think...I think the digimon in the propecy isn't Renamon," said Ryo, suddenly.

"What do you mean?" asked Rika.

"Ah, I'm not sure why but...I just think it isn't Renamon. It's another digimon." Rika blinked at him then smiled ever so slightly.

"Thanks, Ryo. Somehow hearing that from you makes me feel relieved..." Ryo scratched the back of his head. They stood there gazing into each other's eyes. Just when they were about to say something, Kenta's loud voice broke the mood. "Hey guys! We've found something! You've got to see this!"

* * *

A/N: What do you think? R&R please


	11. Chapter 11 - Return of Azulongmon

The guard team took turns to patrol the area. Kazu and Guardromon strode around like vigilant soldier. Jeri chatted with Calumon near the Sovereigns while Suzie, Mako and their digimon huddled together seemly discussing which cards would be effective in battle. There was no sign of any evil digimon but an uneasy feeling passed through them all. It was like the calm before the storm, only the storm arrived in an unexpected way.

Dark grey clouds swirled in the sky. All of them stood together with three tamers clutching their digimon cards, one holding onto the digivice and another with Calumon. Lightning streaked here and there before a figure slowly descended. A look of surprise and shock flashed across their face as Azulongmon floated above them.

"Azulongmon," barked Zhuqiamon, the first to speak up. "Where have you been?"

The old blue dragon glanced at the tamers to the two sovereigns before replying. " I was...investigating. It would seem our worst fears might come true. The enemy from the past is almost back."

"What do you mean?"asked Takato.

"No, it can't be!" growled Zhuqiamon. "H-he... surely was..."

"I know. But he is back. Rather, it would seem he will come back if we don't do something," said Azulongmon.

"Then you mean to say that our worst fears have arisen yet again," added Ebuwonmon. "Does that mean that...?"

"Yes, it will. We have no choice," added Azulongmon, solemnly.

"What are you talking about? Whose coming back?" called Kazu.

The three holy beasts silently gazed at each other before the blue dragon spoke up. "We didn't think _this_ enemy would come back for he was seemingly defeated a long time ago. But it would seem that is not so. "

"Can you get to the point?" yelled Kazu, impatiently.

"Kazu, stop," said Takato. The teen with the visor shut up instantly.

"The enemy we are talking about is quite related to the prophecy that you all heard. He is the one who transcends time."

"Transcends time? Is something like that even possible?" asked Jeri.

"Even us holy beasts cannot. However, you could say this digimon is special. A long time ago, we thought we put an end to this evil creature with help of the chosen children..."

"Who are the chosen children? Were they tamers like us?" asked Takato.

"They too were human and digimon partners however their powers are a little different from yours. But let us not digress. We confirmed that the digimon had indeed been vanquished before. However, the current uneasiness is no doubt because of him. As I wandered through the digital world, I happened to come across an anomaly area. This place was gloomy and desolate with but a large mountain. I circled around the place and tried to go in, but some force stopped me. Then a dark beam hit me and felt my energy being drained. With the little power I had left, I managed to create a barrier around myself. Just before the last bit of my energy disappeared, I caught sight of the digimon that had caused this. It wasn't just one but 4 of them. Shockingly, they were all devimon but of different attributes."

"What? Devimon?" cried Takato."And with different attributes you say?"

"Yes. But they were normal. In fact, they were huge, almost as much as I or any of the other sovereigns," added Azulongmon.

"That's preposterous! There's no something like that can happen while we are around!" cried the phoenix.

"But it has. And it is unfortunate but Baihumon has been caught. They have enshrined him in some kind of closure which even I am unable to break through. They were about to trap me as well however I managed to escape. Since then I have been hiding to restore my lost energy," ended Azulongmon.

"What could be these Devimons' objective? Surely, it isn't as simple as capturing the 4 holy beasts," said Jeri.

"You're right. It doesn't make sense. Besides, the sovereigns are much stronger than them... unless... unless they have some sort of special device or power. If so, then we need to find out the source," said Takato.

"Here's what I think. It's also quite possible that the Devimons wanna capture the holy beast to help revive this time traveller of a digimon," stated Kazu. The other gaped at him in shock. "What?"

"N-Nothing. Just surprised that you thought that far, Kazu," stated Takato.

"Hey, don't underestimate me! I can be a pretty good detective, ya' know?"

"Ya and I'll be your sidekick, Kazu," chimed in Guardromon. The two shared a smile.

"So... what should we do? Do we protect the sovereign or find the source of the Devimons power? asked Mako.

"We're gonna split into yet another group, won't we? One to find the source and another protect the holy beasts," said Suzie.

"We don't need protection from the likes of you! We can handle ourselves quite well!" growled Zhuqiamon, scaring Suzie. She hid behind Mako who blushed.

"For now, let's wait for Henry and the others. Maybe they might have found something as well," said Takato. "Oh that's right! Who is this digimon, the one who goes beyond time?"

"The digimon is..." started Azulongmon, but he was interrupted by the appearance of three dark glowing digimon.

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, yes. You all more or less know who this 'time traveller' of a digimon is. Let me know what you felt about this chapter.**


	12. Chapter 12 - Attack of Kokatorimon

The dark digimon all had red glowing eyes and they were all roosters. Each had pale coloured wings with horns on the back. They also had a steel armour on their body. Takato pulled out his D-3.

"Sinduramon, Data, Ultimate. We're up against three ultimates!" cried Takato.

"Takato," called out Guilmon.

"Yeah, we have no choice. Biomerge!"

"Guilmon biomerge to...Gallantmon!" The red knight jabbed at the ultimates with his spear. The three roosters dodged and launched lightning beams straight at the knight - " _Positron Pulse!_ "

"AAAaaaah!" cried Guilmon and the brunette within him.

"TAKATO!" cried Jeri.

"We've got to help them! Guardromon!" said Kazu, glancing at his partner.

The mechanical digimon and shot whistling missiles at the enemy. "Grenade Destroyer!" Though the missiles hit the birds, it didn't faze them one bit.

"Mako, I'm joining in," said Impmon to his partner before digivolving into Beelzemon. "Double Impact!" The mega fired continuously at the birds till the seemed like they were backing away.

"Lopmon, help them!" said Suzie, pulling out a blue card from her deck. "Digimodify! Matrix Evolution!"

"Lopmon digivolve to...Turiemon!

Turiemon digivolve to...Antylamon!"

The large rabbit pulled out two blades and began tossing them at the roosters. The birds deflected it using their positron pulse. The four digimon charged at the dark digimon and barely managed to keep them away from the others. In the battle that ensued, Guardromon was squatted away like a mosquito. "Guardromon, NO!" cried Kazu, running towards his partner. One Sinduramon tried to attack the visor boy however, Beelzemon managed to knock the bird away just in time.

"Get your partner, Mako and the others to a safe place!" barked Beelzemon.

"Thanks, Beelzemon. I owe you one," thanked Kazu. "Guardromon, can you stand?"

"Y-yes... I'm very sorry, Kazu..."gasped the machine digimon.

"It's alright. Now let's go." Kazu and his partner proceeded to gather Jeri and the others and led them behind a large rock a little away from the main battle. He then turned to the Sovereigns who quietly observed the battle. "Why aren't you helping them?" he asked. Azulongmon glanced over him briefly before training his eyes back on the battle before him. He remained quiet as did the others.

Meanwhile on the battle field, Gallantmon tried to pierce a Sinduramon but the hard metal on its chest made it almost impenetrable. The flow of dark energy around also seemed to become stronger around them.

"Something's not right. They shouldn't be this strong..." stated Takato.

"Ugh... How is it a bunch of cuckoo ultimates are standing up against megas like us?" asked Beelzemon in annoyance.

"I sense some kind of evil power beyond them. But I can't locate the source," said Antylamon.

"So, if we destroy the source, things should go back to normal right? I'll search for the source," said Beelzemon. Before Gallantmon and Antylamon could stop him, he disappeared. The knight and rabbit digimon instead focused on keeping the cuckoos at bay.

From behind the rock, Jeri whispered sadly, " I wish Leomon was here. Perhaps then they wouldn't have so much trouble."

"Don't worry, calu. Everything will be fine, calu," assured Calumon.

Kazu punched the rock. He glared at the holy beasts in anger. ' _They won't even look me in the eye let alone tell me anything! This is frustrating! I wish I could get Guardromon to digivolve somehow!'_

"I'm...sorry, Kazu... If only I was much stronger..." said Guardromon sadly upon seeing his partner's frustration. Kazu's face softened when he looked at his partner. "Don't be. It's me who's not good enough for you..."

The Kokatorimon were now agitated. Their attacks became even more ferocious. Gallantmon and Antylamon had a tough time keeping them at bay.

"This is bad. We need to find some weakness," stated Gallantmon.

"Whatever is the source must be it. After Beelzemon took off, the three seem quite jittery," said Antylamon.

"Then I we can only hope Beelzemon can destroy whatever the source of this dark energy is."

Beelzemon sped towards the direction indicated by Antylamon. After a point he too was able to sense the evil aura. Something was radiating in the air around him. The scenery was now dull and grey with all signs of life seemingly withered. That's when he chanced upon it, a small black stone pulsating from the ground. " _No doubt, this is the source that the bunny was talking about_ ," said Beelzemon to no one in particular. He raised his gun arm and pointed it at the stone. "Double Impact!" he cried. The stone shattered instantly. Though that should have been end, a black mist poured out and was now surrounding Beelzemon.

"W-What is this?" he cried, when the darkness enveloped him.

' _Beelzemon...'_ said an eerie voice from within the mist.

"Who are you? Where are you speaking from?" yelled Beelzemon.

 _'_ _Beelzemon...Where is that heart of yours that once craved for power?'_ it asked.

"I have Ai and Mako! They are my strength! I no longer need to crave for power as long as I have my partners!"

 _'Fufufufu... Oh, you are a fool. Can't you see they are holding you back? You have much more power than this. Join me and you shall regain what you lost. You shall have all the power you need.'_

"Tempting but no thanks. I don't need your help. I will go stronger with my partners."

 _'We shall see about that. I'm sure you'll join us. I shall contact you again...'_

"Don't bother! I ain't taking your sales pitch!" growled Beelzemon. The mist vanished and he was left standing along in the field. Colour was slowly coming to the grey lands. He made his way back all the while curious about the voice. But the time he reached, Gallantmon and Antylamon had defeated the Kokatorimons. After the stone was destroyed, a barrier that had both provided them power as well as protected them from harm disappeared. This made the task of destroying them much easier for the knight and bunny. They all reverted to their original forms and Beelzemon spoke of the dark stone, excluding his conversation with the mysterious voice.

"I wonder what or who it is that we're dealing with," said Jeri. "If only we had a clue."

"Whatever it is, we'd better be on our guard. I hope Rika and the others are ok. I think we'd better regroup with them," said Takato.


	13. Chapter 13 - Kazu and Guardromon

p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"After the attack, Takato sent a message to Henry to regroup. Kazu and Guardromon huddled in a corner, still frustrated about being useless. "It's ok, Kazu. Don't be bogged down by this," said Jeri, in an effort to comfort him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""No. We should have grown stronger by now. We couldn't do anything against the enemy. If the others land up in trouble someday and I can't help, then what?" he cried./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""I'm sure that Guardromon can digivolve soon. Calumon, the digimon of evolution is with us after all," said Takato. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""That's right, Calu! I'm sure you'll be able to digivolve next time!" assured Calumon./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""That's what you say. But when is this 'next time' gonna come? It's been many years already!" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Calm down. There is no need for you to get worked up. Anyway, we have more important things to discuss, don't we?" asked Beelzemon. That shut them up instantly. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""He's right. We need to know what caused those Kokotorimon to go haywire like that. Not to mention them having that kind of power to go against us megas," stated Takato./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""The source was a small black stone. It had a quite a bundle of dark energy. But how it affected those digimon, even I'm sure," said Beelzemon. He refrained from telling them about the strange voice. Mako glanced at his partner, an inquisitive look on his face. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""I wonder how that stone got there though. Beelzemon, can you take to the spot where you found that stone? Maybe we'll find some clues there," requested Takato./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Sure." As Beelzemon led the troop towards the spot, Kazu and Guadromon quietly branched off away from the troop. "Kazu, where are you going?" asked his partner./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Nowhere in particular. I just wanna cool my head," retorted Kazu./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"But what about the others? They'll worry if we're not around..."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""They're strong enough to take care of themselves. Guadromon, we need to do something. We need to become stronger so that we don't drag down the others. But how can I make you digivolve?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""I'm not sure. But I know that as long as I'm with you and we belive in each other, I'll be able to digivolve someday-"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""AND WHEN IS THIS SOMEDAY?" yelled Kazu. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS! EVERYONE THINKS WE'RE WEAK AND A LET DOWN. RIKA CONSTANTLY SAYS WE'RE ONLY A SACK OF POTATOES! I DON'T WANT THIS ANYMORE!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Then what are we gonna do?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""We'll go train on our own somewhere. That's how we'll become strong."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""As you say Kazu." Together the two walked on until they heard a sound from behind them. "Someone's following us," whispered Guardromon. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Who is it? Who's there?" asked Kazu turning around. I shadow slowly made it's appearance in the light./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"-/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"Meanwhile the other tamers reached the spot where Beelzemon found the stone. The surrounding field was completely green as if the stone was never there. Only a small circular hole remained to show any sign that the stone had been there. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Is it just a coincidence that the stone was here and the Kokatorimon went berserk?" asked Takato./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"" I don't think so. Feels more like we were targeted," stated Beelzemon./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"Suddenly, Guilmon began sniffing the air. "Takato, there a strange smell here..." he said./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""What kind Guilmon?" asked Takato./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""I'm not sure but my nose doesn't like it," replied the red dinosaur, covering his nose. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Hmmmm... Can you track the source of the smell, Guilmon?" asked Suzie./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""It's coming from around here."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Let's look around. Maybe we can find something."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Takato... Kazu and Guardromon aren't here," said Jeri, worriedly./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""What!?" exclaimed Takato and looked around. "When did they...?Don't tell me that they're..."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""They left on their own," said Beelzemon./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""What do you mean?" asked Mako./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""I saw them leave while I was leading you here."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Why didn't you say anything then?" yelled Jeri./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""I think he needed time... for himself..." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""I'm worried about Kazu but Guardromon's with him so he should be fine," Takato assured./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Even so... Wait. Where's Calumon? He's not here either!" cried Jeri./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""You don't think he..."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;"-/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Kazu, Guardromon!" cried Calumon, surprising the two./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""What are you doing here, pipsqueak?" asked Kazu./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""I saw you two going off, so I followed you. Where do you plan on going?" asked the little digimon./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""We're going to do some training. I don't want us to lacking behind each time," said Kazu./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Then I'm glad I came with you. If it's you two, I'm sure you can digivolve!" cheered Calumon. Kazu and Guardromon looked at each other./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""Oh yeah... Most of the evolutions did take place when Calumon was around... Guess it might be good to have him around..."said Kazu. "We'll try and see what we can find to help the others but I wanna join them only once you've managed to digivolve. "/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 115%;""It's a deal, Kazu! Let's do this!" said the machine digimon. He fist bumped his partner and Calumon jumped on his shoulders. Together the trio set off towards an unknown destination./span/p

* * *

 **A/N: Hey! So, I thought that since most fanfiction show Kazu as an idiot (he is) so, I thought I'll tweek is character a bit. Planning on developing his character to something that's a little more reliable (English dub crest reference)**


	14. Chapter 14 - A touch of Evil

The tamers huddled around Henry and his laptop. Kenta pointed to the some strange letters that were highlighted in it. "See these red glowing lines? It matched the ones one the wall over there," he explained, indicating to a faint glow on the opposite of the cavern.

"And what does it mean?" asked Rika.

"It seems to be some kind of a message," said Henry. "It says here - [ _That which wasn't to be exists. One that dies will be revived. Rebirth from the stream where the data lies recessive. Hand that sheds the light in the darkness, will be a double edged sword.]_ Judging from this, I'm guessing there's some sort of object to revive old data."

"When you say old data, you mean things that have been deleted?" asked Ryo. "Is that even possible?"

"Seems that it's a possibility. However, I think it depends on the user of this ' _object_ '. If it falls into the wrong hands, it'll spell doom for us," stated Kenta.

"So, whoever sent us that previous prophecy is going to use this object to revive themselves? If that's the case the we should just get rid of source that whoever it is wants to revive. Quickest way if you ask me," suggested Rika.

"True. But we don't know who our enemy is so it'll be difficult to track them down," said Henry. "On the other hand if we can trace this ' _object_ ' then I'm sure we'll encounter the enemy as well."

"So, where is this object?" asked Ryo.

"That's the problem. We have no idea. Perhaps the clue is among the hieroglyphs itself," said Kenta. "It'll take quite a long time to decipher these."

"So, we have to wait until you guys finish? That could be an eternity for all we know!" cried Rika, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Calm down, Rika," said Ryo, placing an arm on her shoulder. "Let's survey the area outside. We might find something there for all you know." Though Rika wouldn't have normally agreed to this, she did so. If she had to wait inside, she would only fret and fume, hindering the two code-deciphers. Ai sat dutifully next to Henry and watched him decode whilst taking notes on the techniques he used. Terriermon and Marineangemon fell asleep next to their partners. Ryo, Rika and their respective partners headed outside again. The patrolled the area for an hour without much luck and came back. Then they set up a small campfire with the few dry sticks they found and spread out their sleeping bags in a circle. Ryo fell asleep instantly but Rika found herself in a disturbed sleep.

"Rika, you should try and sleep," whispered Renamon.

"Easy for you to say," muttered Rika. "Hey, Renamon, are you really not from this digital world?"

"I can't say for sure but I yes, I think that's the case. I have a vague memory of being on an island like place before," replied Renamon.

"So, that means that there's more than one digital world, like parallel worlds. " She paused for a while before continuing, "Hey, Renamon. Do you ever wish to go back to that other digital world?"

"Not really. I don't have many memories of it other than those of Tailmon and Wizardmon. Besides, you are my partner Rika. The place I want to be is by your side," said Renamon. Rika smiled. "Thanks, Renamon." She quietly slid out of her sleeping bag.

"What are you doing?" asked Renamon.

"I can't sleep. I think I'll go for a short stroll," answered Rika, tucking her bag away.

"I'm coming with you."

"I thought that's a given," said Rika, with a smirk. Together the two wandered outside. As they walked in silence, the area around them began to change from the grassy patch, to a dull grey.

"Something's not right. I feel an evil presence," stated Renamon. "We need to be careful." She scrutinized their surroundings, preparing for an attack. Rika drew out her deck and digivice. For a few moments nothing happened and then a dark blast hurled itself straight at them. Without a moment's hesitation, the fox digimon picked up her partner and dodged. Where they were moments before was a dark patch.

"Who's there?" called out Rika. A digimon clad in darkness stood a few feet away from them. It's eyes glowed red, the mark of evil on its chest. Rika's digivice read - 'Devimon, virus type champion digimon, Special Attack: Touch of Evil'

"It's nice to meet you, Rika Nonaka," greeted the devil-like digimon. " Or perhaps it would be better if I called you, ' _Digimon Queen_ ', hmm?"

"Whatever. I'm taking you down. Renamon!" Rika pulled out a card and slashed it across her digivice.

"Digi-Modify! Digi-evolution Plug in S!"

"Renamon digivolve to... Kyuubimon!"

"Fiesty one. I think I'll play with you for a while," said Devimon with a smirk.

"You'll regret it! Go, Kyuubimon!" cried Rika.

"Fox Tail Inferno!" Blue will o wisps formed on the Kyuubimon's tail before firing at Devimon. The evil digimon merely floated upwards to dodge.

"Dragon Wheel!" Kyuubimon turned into a blue dragon but Devimon stopped her with one hand and knocked her away.

"Kyuubimon, no!" cried Rika rushing to her partner.

"I expected you to be stronger seeing as your partner is the Digimon Queen, Kyuubimon. I'm disappointed," taunted Devimon.

Kyuubimon stood up. "I won't let us insult us and get away! I'll show you the power of the Digimon Queen!" Rika pulled out two cards. "Digi-modify! Angemon's heaven's knuckle!"

Kyuubimon proceeded to launch the holy attack. Devimon dodged but the attacked grazed his shoulder causing him to wince. "How's that?" yelled Rika. "Finish him, Kyuubimon!"

"Looks like playtime's over." Before Kyuubimon could attack the devil, the evil digimon caught Rika in one swift movement.

"Rika!" cried her partner.

"L-Let me go!" yelled Rika, thrashing and struggling against the dark digimon.

"Don't move!" ordered Devimon to the fox digimon. "Or partner will be more than just hurt! Now then, let's get this thing out of the way." Devimon gripped Rika with one hand and threw her digivice with the other. He then grabbed the girl so she was face to face with him.

"You've really become weak Rika. Those cold eyes you had before were a mark of your true strength," he rasped.

"No! That was my weakness because I didn't believe in my partner back then. I'm stronger now because Renamon and I fight as one!" said Rika.

"The partner talk again. How pathetic."

"Kyuu-bi-mon. Attack him now! Don't...worry about...me," said Rika.

"Rika..." The fox digimon ran and tried to tackle the enemy. Devimon merely fly upwards in the last second. "Pathetic, really. I'm going to bring out your true potential Rika. You deserve better. We have been observing you and Renamon closely for quite sometime now. I believe you both are strong... strong enough to help us in our cause."

"I don't know what cause you have but we're not gonna help you!" declared Rika.

'We'll see about that. I've never tried this on a human before but since you're in the digital world I'm sure it'll work," whispered Devimon.

"What are you...?"

"Touch of Evil" a dark aura poured out from Devimon into Rika. The fiery haired girl writhed in pain. She saw visions of her cold, ice queen side mocking her for being 'weak'. She tried to fight back but a powerful will seemed to oppress hers. "Re..na...mon", she said, barely a whisper.

"RIKA!" yelled her partner and jumped at the devil. Holding Rika in one hand, Devimon hit Kyuubimon with his 'Touch of Evil'. As his red eyes bore into Rika and her partner, their mind slowly began to bend to his will. When he set them down on the ground, Devimon placed a dark stone into both of them. This made Kyubimon's fur turn to raven black while Rika's eyes glazed with an empty look, her stoic demeanour coming back once more. Just as they were leaving a teardrop fell from Rika's cheek. ' _Save me... someone... Ryo!'_

The legendary tamer awoke with a start. The first thing he did was look in Rika's direction. There was no sign of the flame-haired girl. He rubbed his eyes to make she he wasn't groggy. He looked around and noticed that Renamon wasn't there either. Fear gripped his heart. He'd heard Rika's voice calling for help. He quickly got out of his sleeping bag and shook Henry.  
"Henry! Henry wake up! Rika's missing!" he bellowed into the sleeping boy's ears.

"Stop, yelling into my ears, Ryo!" shouted Henry, tossing the other boys arm away. "What do you mean by Rika's missing?"

"She and Renamon are not here. They could be in some kind of trouble!"

"What's going on? What's all the commotion?" asked Kenta, sleepily. MarineAngemon floated near him, spitting heart shaped bubbles.

"Um... I don't think we need to worry about Rika. She's so strong after all," said Ai.

"She maybe strong but we don't know our enemy yet! She could be in some kind of trouble for all we know!" snapped Ryo.

"Calm down. You don't have to snap at Ai. Though I think she should be back soon, let's split into group and search for her," said Henry. They all put away their sleeping bags and were about to leave the cave when two silhouettes appeared at the entrance.

"What are you guys doing?" asked the flame-haired girl.

"Rika!" they all cried in unison.

"Where have you been?" asked Henry.

"I couldn't sleep so Renamon and I went out for a stroll," she answered.

"Should have known. You should have told us. Ryo was so worried about you," said Kenta.

"Oh? Well, I'm strong so there's no way some lame digimon can beat me," retorted Rika.

"Yeah, you're not the digimon queen for nothing after all!" said Ai, happily. Rika smirked. She was about to pick up her bag when she noticed Ryo staring at her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's...nothing," said Ryo, a serious look on his face. His partner watched him with concern.

' _Something's not right...'_ thought Ryo as he glanced at Rika again.

* * *

 **A/N: I planned to have Devimon appear since he's so badass. We he used his special move on Leomon and mind-controlled him, it made me wonder what would happen if he used it on a human. Also, there is a reason why he threw away Rika's digivice. I think you all already know the reason.**


End file.
